Weight distributing cargo rack system for use on vehicles

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a vehicle cargo rack system for use on a vehicle Roof mounts are attached to the roof. A cargo bar is provided. The cargo bar has a first end, an opposite second end, and a midsection. The cargo bar is supported above the roof by the roof mounts. When a load is attached to the vehicle, the load is placed atop the cargo bar, wherein the weight of the load is borne by the cargo bar. A plurality of support legs extends from the midsection of the cargo bar to the roof. The support legs contact the roof and transfer the forces across the roof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

In general, the present invention relates to roof racks and cargo racksthat are designed to attach to the roof of a vehicle. More particularly,the present invention relates to roof racks and cargo racks thatdistribute weight across the roof of a vehicle.

2. Prior Art Description

Most all commercially sold vehicles have a roof. Many vehicles, such asthe Jeep® Wrangler®, have a roof system that is either removable orretractable. This enables the vehicle to be fitted with either a softtop roof, a hard-top roof, or a hybrid roof with sliding panelsdepending upon the preferences of the owner. Since the roof system isremovable and/or retractable, it is not integrated into the structuralframework of the vehicle. In order to keep the vehicle safe and stable,the vehicle is typically designed with support bars that extendlaterally across the top of the vehicle. The support bars of the vehicleserve as anchors and supports to the roofing system, wherein the softtop or hard top pass over the support bars.

Soft top roofs, removable hardtop roofs and panel roofs lack thephysical strength to support much weight. In such a vehicle, a problemoccurs when a person attempts to attach a roof rack or some other cargorack to the top of the vehicle. The edge of the roof system on its ownlacks the integrity to hold any substantial loads. If the roof system isremoved and the roof rack is attached directly to the support bars ofthe vehicle, then the presence of the roof rack prevents the soft top orhard top from being installed. The vehicle must therefore remain as aconvertible for as long as the roof rack is in place. Such prior artsystems are exemplified by U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2012/0193380 to McMurtrie and U.S. Pat. No. 6,152,339 to Kreisler. Ifthe roof rack is installed atop the soft top or hard top, then holesmust be formed in the soft top or hard top so that the forces of theload can be transferred through the roof system to the underlyingsupport bars. This damages the roof system and promotes leaking andtearing. Such prior art systems are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No.4,538,752 to Welter.

The only alternative is to create brackets that attach to the frameworkof the vehicle at points around the periphery of the roofing system.Such prior art systems are exemplified by U.S. Patent No. 2011/0101056to Barkey and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0069971 toVan Kaathoven. Such prior art systems have frame elements that extenddown the sides of the roof and often adversely alter the aesthetics ofthe vehicle.

A similar problem occurs with many tradition vehicles that have integralroofs. Although the roofs are integrated into the chassis of thevehicle, only certain sections of the roof are supported by framing.Large areas of the roof are little more than unsupported panels of sheetmetal that can hold very little weight without bending. Accordingly,when roof racks are attached to such roofs, they can only be attached tosupported areas of the roof in order to prevent damage to the roof.

A need therefore exists for a roof rack system for vehicles, wherein theroof rack system transfers loads to the roof of the vehicle withoutdamaging the existing roof or roofing system. A need also exists for aroof rack system that does not detract from the overall aesthetics ofthe vehicle. These needs are met by the present invention as describedand claimed below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a vehicle cargo rack system that mounts atopthe roof of a vehicle. The roof may be a tradition integrated roof, or aroofing system that is retractable, removable and/or paneled. Roofmounts are attached to the roof. The preferred attachment pointscorrespond to areas of the roof that overlay support framing or supportbars. If gaps exist between the roof and the support framing or supportbars, then these spaces can be filled with an auxiliary load transfersupport. In this manner, the support framing or support bars can becaused to directly support areas of the roofs.

A cargo bar is provided. The cargo bar has a first end, an oppositesecond end, and a midsection between the first end and the second end.The cargo bar is supported above the roof by the roof mounts. When aload is attached to the vehicle, the load is placed atop the cargo bar,wherein the weight of the load is borne by the cargo bar.

A plurality of support legs extends from the midsection of the cargo barto the roof. The support legs contact the roof and spread the forces ofthe load across the roof. If the roof has support framing or supportbars under at least some of the support legs, then some of the load canbe transferred to the frame through the structure of the roof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is madeto the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof,considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a cargo racksystem;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a fragmented cross-sectional view of a section of the cargorack system where a support leg engages the cargo bar;

FIG. 4 shows the exemplary cargo rack system applied to a first vehiclewith a removable roof and cross bars;

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 4, viewedalong section line 5-5; and

FIG. 6 shows the exemplary cargo rack system applied to a second vehiclewith an integral sheet-metal roof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the present invention roof rack system can be adapted for usein many types of vehicles, the roof rack system is shown applied to twotypes of vehicles. The selected vehicles are a sports utility vehiclewith a removable roof system, such as a Jeep® Wrangler®, and a car witha traditional metal roof. The illustrated embodiments are selected inorder to set forth two of the best modes contemplated for the invention.However, the illustrated vehicles are intended to be representative ofall vehicle, including cars, SUVs, vans and trucks. The illustratedembodiments are merely exemplary and should not be considered aslimitations when interpreting the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a rack assembly 10 is shown. Althoughone rack assembly 10 is shown, it will be understood that two roof rackassemblies are typically mounted to a vehicle. Each rack assembly 10includes a cargo bar 12 and two roof mounts 14. The cargo bar 12 isrigid and is preferably made of steel or aluminum. The cargo bar 12 isshown having a square cross-sectional profile. However, other profileshapes, such as round tubing, extruded aluminum, and I-beam constructscan also be used. The cargo bar 12 has a first end 16 and an oppositesecond end 18. The cargo bar 12 is long enough to span the roof of atypical vehicle. As such, the length of the cargo bar 12 is typicallybetween three and five feet.

The roof mounts 14 are used to mechanically attach the cargo bar 12 tothe roof of a vehicle. The roof mounts 14 attach to the cargo bar 12 at,or near, the first end 16 and the second end 18 of the cargo bar 12.Each roof mount 14 includes a support bracket 20 and a clamp 22. Theclamp 22 has shaped jaws 24 and a mechanical fastener 26 that can beused to selectively loosen or tighten the jaws 24. As will later beshown, the jaws 24 engage a water guide ridge near the edge of aremovable hardtop roof. In the prior art, there are several clampconfigurations that are used to engage a water guide ridge on a vehicleroof. It will be understood that any such prior art clamp configurationcan be adapted for use as part of the present invention. It will also beunderstood that the clamps can be configured to engage roof featuresother than water guides. For example, for some models of vehicles theclamps may engage front-to-back track bars that are manufactured as partof the roof.

The support bracket 20 of each roof mount 14 engages the cargo bar 12.The support bracket 20 can be either tubular or U-shaped, wherein thesupport bracket 20 can receive the cargo bar 12. Slots 28 are formed inthe support bracket 20. The slots 28 align with mounting holes 30 in thecargo bar 12. The slots 28 enable the position of the roof mounts 14 tobe adjusted along a length of the cargo bar 12. In this manner, thedistance between the two roof mounts 14 can be adjusted to therequirements of different vehicle roofs. Once the roof mounts 14 aremounted to a vehicle and the cargo bar 12 is set into the roof mounts14, fasteners 32 pass through the mounting holes 30 and slots 28 toaffix the cargo bar 12 in place.

Referring to FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it can beseen that the cargo bar 12 has a midsection 34 that extends between thetwo roof mounts 14. The midsection 34 is suspended a short distanceabove a vehicle roof by the roof mounts 14. A plurality of support legs36 extend from the cargo bar 12. Each support leg 36 has a padded head40 and an adjustable shaft 38. The adjustable shaft 38 has a length thatcan be selected adjusted by a user. In the shown embodiment, theadjustable shaft 38 has threads that engage threaded bores 42 within thecargo bar 12. In this manner, the distance that each of the support legs36 can be extended from the cargo bar 12 can be selectively adjusted tothe needs of a vehicle. Once a desired length is achieved, a lockingmechanism 44, such as a lock nut can be tightened against the cargo bar12 to lock the support legs 36 in place.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, itcan be seen that in order to utilize the full cargo rack system 50, twoor more rack assemblies 10 are mounted to a vehicle 52. The rackassemblies 10 are mounted in parallel. In the shown embodiment, thevehicle 52 is a Jeep® with a removable hardtop roof 54. The hardtop roof54 has a water guide ridge 56 to facilitate the attachment of the clamps22 on the roof mounts 14. The roof 54 extends above the support bars 58of the vehicle 52. The roof 54 is anchored in place on the vehicle 52 inthe traditional manner. The roof mounts 14 are attached to the roof 54directly over the position of the support bars 58. The cargo bars 12 arethen bolted to the roof mounts 14, wherein the cargo bars 12 extendbetween the roof mounts 14. The cargo bars 12, therefore, are suspendedabove the roof 54 directly above the underlying position of the supportbars 58. The support legs 36 that descend from the cargo bars 12 areextended into contact with the roof 54. As such, any weight applied tothe cargo bars 12 will be transferred to the support legs 36. Thesupport legs 36 transfer the load to the roof 54 and, when applicable,to the support bars 58 directly under the roof 54. Depending upon themodel and year of the vehicle, the roof 54 may rest directly upon thesupport bars 58. If a gap space exists between the roof 54 and thesupport bars 58, then an auxiliary support 59 can be provided. Theauxiliary support 59 is sized to fit between the roof 54 and the supportbars 58, therein enabling the force of the load to transfer through theauxiliary support 59 from the roof 54 to the support bar 58.

The roof 54 itself experiences compression under the support legs 36.However, due to the number of support legs 36, the compression forcesare kept below the damage threshold of the roof 54, and no damage to thematerial of the roof 54 occurs.

In the shown embodiment, the cargo bars 12 are straight and flat. Itwill be understood that the cargo bars 12 can be specialized to carrydifferent loads. For example, brackets can be added to the cargo bars 12to hold bicycles, kayaks, tents, awnings, and the like. When traveling,the weight of the load on the cargo rack system 50 is transferred to theroll bars 58, which can easily sustain the weight of the load. The roofmounts 14 support only a small part of the load and primarily bear thelateral forces to prevent the cargo rack system 50 from falling off thevehicle during turns and changes in acceleration.

Referring to FIG. 6 in conjunction with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a rackassembly 10 is shown mounted to a traditional vehicle with a sheet metalroof 62. The rack assembly 10 is being mounted above a section of theroof 62 that does not have any underlying support. Accordingly, anauxiliary support plate 64 is provided. The support plate 64 is set uponthe roof 62 under the rack assembly 10. The roof mounts 14 are attachedto the roof 62 in the traditional manner. The cargo bars 12 is thenbolted to the roof mounts 14, wherein the cargo bar 12 extends betweenthe roof mounts 14. The support legs 36 that descend from the cargo bar12 are extended into contact with the support plate 64 on the roof 62.As such, any weight applied to the cargo bars 12 will be transferredfirst to the support plate 64 and then to the roof 62. If the roof 62 isdirectly supported by internal frame elements, the use of the supportplate 64 may not be required. The support plate 64 is an option thathelps further distribute the load from the cargo rack assembly 10 to theroof of the vehicle.

It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention thatare illustrated and described are merely exemplary and that a personskilled in the art can make many variations to these embodiments. Allsuch embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of thepresent invention as defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cargo rack system that mounts to a roof of avehicle, said system comprising: a straight cargo bar having a firstend, an opposite second end, and a midsection between said first end andsaid second end; threaded bores formed in said straight cargo bar,wherein said threaded bores are spaced between said first end and saidsecond end; mounting holes formed in said straight cargo bar proximatesaid first end and said second end; roof mounts connected to said cargobar proximate said first end and said second end, wherein each of saidroof mounts includes a support bracket for receiving said straight cargobar and a clamp for attaching said roof mounts to said roof of saidvehicle, wherein each said support bracket contains elongated slots thatalign with said mounting holes on said straight cargo bar; fastenersthat extend through said elongated slots and engage said mounting holes,wherein said fasteners enable said straight cargo bar to be selectivelyadjusted along said elongated slots through a range of adjustablepositions; support legs extending from said midsection of said cargo barin a common direction, wherein each of said support legs has a shaftthat threads into one of said mounting holes on said straight cargo bar,said support legs including a central leg disposed midway between saidfirst end and said second end of said cargo bar, a first plurality oflegs disposed between said central leg and said first end, and a secondplurality of legs disposed between said central leg and said second end,wherein said support legs contact said roof and support said cargo barwhen said cargo rack system is mounted to said roof and evenlydistribute weight from said cargo bar to said roof.
 2. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein each of said support legs has a head thatis supported by one of said threaded shafts.
 3. The system according toclaim 1, wherein said support brackets support said cargo bar at a firstelevation.